As the Internet has become widespread, the introduction of a telecommunications system, by which to dispose optical fibers between a telephone office and ordinary households, thereby enabling high speed interactive communications, is gaining momentum. With such a telecommunications system, a connecting member such as an optical connector or an optical receptacle is utilized in optically connecting optical fibers together or an optical fiber to an instrument in an optical transmission path.
As the above-mentioned optical connector, an F04-type optical connector or a so-called SC-type optical connector is known (see Non-Patent Document 1). As described in Non-Patent Document 1, the SC-type optical connector is an optical connector which can connect optical fibers with a small loss and reduced reflection. Not only such an optical connector, but also a conventional optical connector has the function of connecting optical fibers with a small loss and reduced reflection.
In recent years, with the expansion of the region of application of optical fiber telecommunications technologies, there has been a demand for realization of other functions of optical connectors in addition to the function of connecting optical fibers. These functions range widely according to the region of application of optical connectors and, for example, include the function of cleaning the end surface of the optical fiber of the optical connector, and the function of blocking light exiting from the end surface of the optical fiber when no optical connector is coupled to the optical fiber.
The above light blocking function has hitherto been often achieved, for example, by mounting the optical connector with a cap formed from rubber or the like. The cleaning function has generally been performed by using alcohol and a cleaning paper, or an optical connector cleaner. In this case, the cleaning paper wetted with alcohol, or a cleaning surface of the optical connector cleaner is pressed and rubbed against the end surface of a ferrule of the optical connector rid of the cap, whereby the end surface of the ferrule and the end surface of the optical fiber in the optical connector are cleaned. An optical connector having a light blocking mechanism described in Patent Document 1, for example, has been developed as the optical connector having the cleaning function.
Patent Document 1: Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2005-77837
Non-Patent Document 1: Japanese Industrial Standards JIS C 5973